AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Senate on Friday confirmed a House vote rejecting a bill that would have allowed public funds to be used for private religious schools.
The 24-8 Senate vote on LD 1866 — one of four education bills proposed by Gov. Paul LePage — followed brief debate. The House without debate voted 84-59 on Thursday to defeat the measure.
Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon Falls, was one of only three members of the Education Committee who supported the bill, which would have eliminated one line in state statute that says “only nonsectarian private schools may be approved for the receipt of public funds for tuition purposes.”
Mason said he thinks there are students who are not getting the most of public education and they might benefit from a private religious school. Any student now can attend a religious school, but they must pay tuition. Some families can’t afford to.
Others said the bill would have created a “voucher” program that sets a bad precedent.
“Siphoning taxpayer money to pay for religious education undercuts Maine’s public education,” said Assistant Democratic Leader Justin Alfond, who also serves on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. “Schools are already being asked to do more with less and taking money away from our public schools will result in cutting programs and lost opportunities for our students.”
Concerns about the constitutionality of the proposed measure remain. Attorney General William Schneider told the Education Committee that he didn’t think the bill would violate the state Constitution.
Alfond, though, said there have been four cases in the last three decades where the Maine Supreme Court has ruled that using public money to fund religious schools is not consistent with state law.
LD 1866 was one of four pieces of legislation proposed this session by LePage and Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen in an effort to further change the state’s education model.
LD 1854 was designed to create an open enrollment system that would allow schools to become “schools of choice” and accept students from outside their districts. That means students and families could enroll their students in these schools without needing permission from the district in which they reside and the local taxpayers dollars would go with them.
The Education Committee decided to study the idea and bring back recommendations to the next Legislature. It could still be passed when it goes to the floor. LePage has strongly advocated for improving school choice and could lean on Republican lawmakers.
Another bill that would create a uniform teacher evaluation system in Maine passed through the Education Committee last week after an amendment was added that ensures due process in the event a teacher is given poor reviews and terminated.
The governor’s final education bill enhances career and technical education by syncing vocational education schedules with traditional classroom schedules.
Follow BDN reporter Eric Russell on Twitter @BDNPolitics
Garrett Mason looks and acts like he is still in High School.
killer fauxhawk though, amirite?
Im sorry, but this is a violation of parents rights…parents should have the right to have THEIR tax dollars spent at whichever school they chose to send their kids to. I think that people who say that they dont want their tax dollars being spent on religious schools are not looking at this the right way. What was being asked was that tax dollars get shifted from one school system to the next. Not EXTRA taxes being requested. I ask you this…I feel like the regular high school my child goes to is violating my religious beliefs because my child is being exposed to ideas that I feel are in violation of our religious beliefs…does this mean that I have a right in turn to refuse to have MY tax dollars sent to public schools? If not, why? This does not seem fair….(I cant afford to send my child to the religious school in my area, or I would-can’t afford to homeschool either-not in this economy).
“I feel like the regular high school my child goes to is violating my religious beliefs because my child is being exposed to ideas that I feel are in violation of my religious beliefs.”
This is a perfect example of why tax dollars should not be used to fund one-sided education. If you don’t like the ideas your child is exposed to, that’s a discussion you should have at home with your child. That’s parenting. Children need to be exposed to ideas and people from different backgrounds. It’s how they learn to live in a society and contribute to it. And if you disagree with that, how would you feel about your tax dollars funding the Jihad Academy?
Well the current system is one sided with Superintendents and School Boards refusing to make the changes that are necessary to keep districts going and costs from going through the roof. If the system is so good why is towns across Maine pulling out.
This is not a violation of rights, it is a protection of rights. The State can not and should not fund religion in any way. Once the State gives money to a religion, it is saying that they support that religion, and that is wrong. There can not be ANY State sponsored religion.
If you don’t like what your children are being taught in school, join the school board and try to change the curriculum. You will find that the Board’s lawyer will tell you anything from a religious stand point (i.e. contraception in wrong, gays are bad, etc) can not be put into the curriculum due to separatation of Church and State.
If you want your kids to adhere to Bronze Age fairytale stories then you will just have to do like everyone else in America and make sure they attend the brainwashing called Sunday School. Just do the rest of us a favor and don’t cross that fine line between your average Christian bigot and Branch Davidian nutjob.
I’ll agree to the first two paragraphs but bear in mind that a probable majority of Christians (and their Sunday Schools) would agree with you (and not Mainemom)
O course it is a violation. The State is not picking one particular religion. The only Separation of Church and State comes from the Supreme Court, the Constitution says, no establishment of Religion. Funny it was taught until the Athiest Religion got their way.
Liberals love to use their favorite excuse on education when they know the system is failing.
You can just run for the school board and still get outvoted 10 to 12-1 each time and nothing still doesn’t get done. That is the problem they don’t care they want to continue the same system that has failed for 30 years. People we should have a choice to on where to send our kids. They should also do something about these out of control sports programs where the costs are growing but participation especially in smaller towns in Maine is very bad. Considering the costs of fuel , travel and administration for these programs are increasing. Change needs to happen because the system isn’t working.
If I had one child and you had ten children and we both wanted to send them to a religous school that biiled the state of Maine $10,000.00 per year in tution for each child- how would that work fairly for the tax payers of this state? I paid for 9 years of Catholic School for my daughter. I think religous schools would give up a lot of autonomy if the public paid.In addition, some kids would be sent to a religous school to be “straightened out.” Could those bad apples be kept out? I doubt it. Be careful what you wish for.
Be assured that relgious schools would give up a lot of autonomy. They should be careful for what they ask (not that I want the bill or any one like it to pass).
Regardless of all of the arguments-We have no money for what we’re doing now-much less finding private schools. One minute our Governor does something that really makes sense, and in an instant comes up with the rediculous. My advice, if some folks don’t like the schools in their towns, move, or get on the council or school board and work to make them better. The rest of this is a pipe dream.
So we’ll be building lots of school in the near future. Muslim school, Dhristian school, atheist school, Wiccan school, etc., etc.
I say we build the Wiccan school next to the Puritan school on the shores of a lake. Instead of Saturday Night Football we would have Friday afternoon witch trials. Ticket sales go to the Wiccan school and concessions go to the Puritan school
I’ll give this a shot. Please bear in mind that I am not an educator, lawyer or financial expert.
In one way or another, everyone pays taxes. If you live in a city and own property, you pay property taxes. You pay income tax to the feds and the state. You pay sales tax, and excise tax, and so on and so on. Your taxes are used to pay for a variety of things, from fixing roads, to picking up trash, to maintaining police and fire departments, to paying for public schools. This is a normal part of living in a modern society. You may not be able to personally choose what your taxes pay for, but instead are allowed and encouraged to participate in your local and state government, which is where you can register your wants when it comes to where your tax dollars go. Sometimes we have to pay for what we don’t use…everyone pays to fund public schools, whether they have children or not, for example.
Leaving aside all of the debates about the separation of church and state, we have long-standing traditions and laws which in part state that public money can not be used to finance religious activities or schooling. This is because, while we have decided that we are obligated to provide an education to all children, we also recognize that there are many, many different religions, all with different philosophies, customs and creeds, and we can ‘make no laws respecting an establishment of religion.” Since a person’s religious beliefs are deeply personal, and often contradict other people’s beliefs, we as a people decided to keep them all out of schools. Hence, no prayers, religious icons, etc. Putting a cross, or star of David, or whatever other religious icon, in a school’s lobby can be seen as an “establishment of religion.” Using public, taxpayer money to finance religious activities is seen as the same thing.
This bill doesn’t add new taxes; what it proposes is this: if I decide that my child can get a better education in some other town, I am entitled to do so, and my town is obligated to take the money that would have been used for my child in my town’s school, and instead give it to the other town where my kid will go. Or, if I prefer a local private school, that money can go there instead. The original bill also proposed that money could go to a religious school. Not additional money, mind you, or your specific tax money, but money that the town had put aside for their school budget. Public money. Which can’t be used to finance religious education.
And that’s where the problem is. Once public money is used to finance a religious school, then it can be used to finance any religious school. You state that you feel that the public school is teaching things that go against your religion, but that you can’t afford to send your kids to your chosen religious school. It makes me wonder…what are your children being taught…actively taught, and not picking up from other kids…in public school that goes against your religion? And, to take it further, how would you feel if you knew that some of your money, instead of being used at that public school, was instead paying for a kid to go to a Muslim school? Or perhaps a Jewish school, or a Catholic school, or a Buddhist school, or a school for Satanists, or for Scientologists? Because it would have to be, if the original bill passed.
So that’s my take. I can understand your desire to educate your children elsewhere, but if it’s a religious school you want, then I would suggest connecting with your church. Perhaps they can help.
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nobody will read this Tolstoy…
Heh, yeah I know. I was feeling verbose.
Nice ASCI thumb. :-)
Yeah, and you have the majority of kids exposed to your partcular religious beliefs with no chance for non-acceptance. More like indocrintation on your part. Give your kids credit for being able to determine what points of view are more accurate. “Critical thinking”, you know.
As you say “sorry” but it is not quite as simple as you have stated. Your community spends X amount of dollars to educate the students. Now you wish to take your child out of that school along with what you consider to be your share of tax dollars. The cost to your community to educate the remaining sudents is still X because your child leaving has not resulted in substantial savings in wages paid, books bought, mortages paid, bus runs , and etc. So the taxes will have to be raised to make up the difference for what you took out.
Have you looked on line at what religious and/or private school education costs ? I have. They start ( key word being start ) at about $ 14,000 per year per student not counting transportation and books in most cases. In the State of Maine the average expenditure per student is a little over $9,000 per year including the cost of transportation and books. So if the Town were to give you the $ 9,000 you would have to make up a minimum of $ 5,000 plus. Guess you have a better job than I do.
Then comes the real crux of the problem — you want tax dollars to support religious and private schools then they have to be ready to accept anyone who wishes to go. Yep that’s right ” the good, the bad and the ugly”. Their curriculum needs to be ready to service not just the bright students they currently cherry pick but also the average kids, the problem kids and those who require special education. And while their at it they will have to be open to freedom of speech and discuss homosexuality, sex education and evolution.
If you want my tax dollars to support religious and private schools then that is the deal. Now the religious and private schools would not be so special. They would be almost if not identical to the public schools we already have.
Public education certainly has its problems. Taking tax dollars out would not only be wrong in my book but would just make a bad situation worse. Public education has served us a long time and made this country what it is. We do not have to reinvent the wheel but we certainly need a wheel alignment.
There is a christian school in my area that is $4000.00 a year. (Includes books, and transportation-and they are fully accredited by the state of Maine. Its NOT $14,000.00 . Some private schools are expensive, but not ALL are. I live in a school choice area, and it would have saved taxpyers $5000.00 a year to send my child child to John Bapst then to the Christian school. John Bapst High School-Private NON-religious school tuition is about $9000.00 last time I checked (without books and transportation) Maybe if public education would straighten out, you wouldnt have so many parents in favor of this bill.
Hogwash that your child’s religious beliefs are being violated and double hogwash that MY tax dollars should be spent on some religious school. Want religion? Fine. Pray to your heart’s content in your church and your home. Otherwise, keep your private mythology away from everyone else’s public venues and certainly away from everyone else’s public tax dollars.
Wow…you are hostile. I am entitled to my opinion. If I believe that public schools are violating my religious views, then so be it. (like human evolution, and not be able to say the pledge of Allegiance) The religious aspect of a private christian school is a plus, but most importantly, these schools small size allow students to suceed well academically. Have you seen the graduation success rate of private religious or even non-religious schools versus public schools? Look at society today and tell me it hasnt become progressively worse over the years. If people could respect eith others views, and not be so hostile towards each other (HINT HINT), and try to do a good deed every day, maybe this could help all of us.
1. There is a large difference between respecting each others views, and forcing others to live by your views (like the Christian fight against gay marriage, Catholic anti-contraception, etc.) While your views can be respected, they should not be forced. You get to force your view point, in a manner of speaking, when you vote.
2. Being upset that your kids school teaches evolution is fairly misguided. The evidence of evolution is there. If you managed to avoid getting sick this winter, you have Neaderthal to thank, as he is the one who gave us our immune system. I know, science just sinks sometimes when it gets in the way of Bronze Age Fairytales. Speaking of which, does it offend you that public schools teach science? After all, most everything involved in science flies in the face of your religion.
Based on your response, can you honestly say that you are NOT trying to force your opinion on me? Absolutely I do not like public school science when it comes to evolution. I prefer Christian school science teachings in regards to science. Let me ask you this…IF humans came from Apes, why is it that there are BOTH Apes and Humans on earth to this day? If we evolved from Apes, shouldnt the Apes be non-existent now???? How does science explain that? On the another note, if you read 90% of these posts in response to my original comment, you will see that it is all of these individuals who are trying to force their opinion on me…not the other way around. I am on the defensive here, not the offensive. What a sad state we are in if one can not voice their opinion without being attacked on a personal level.Also, where in my post does it state what religion I belong to? It seems that you have become both the judge and jury on this one. I respect your views, but as you say, you should not force your opinion on others. I was merely stating my own point of view. Thats what living in a democracy is all about.
We should have a choice to send our kids. If our schools are failing like the district in my town is why should we have our kids be bound to stay in that district. With towns pulling out in my district , costs rising with enrollments declining at an alarming rate. We should have the right to send them to the neighboring districts in the neighboring towns nearby. That is why we need to have school choice , unlimited open enrollments, and turn Maine High Schools into public/private academy style high schools with unlimited open enrollments. They should be allowed to have kids from all across Maine, the Country and, World Wide Foriegn Exchange Students. Then you can hire the best teachers , boost enrollments, then have the best schools.
When you ask the town to send tax dollars to a religious school, you are asking them to subsidize a school which the majority in that town do not wish to do. They will end up having to pay anyway, therefore depriving their own school of that money. I know of no town or state for that matter that uses its money to support local churches by sending them tax money. Why shouldn’t a refusal to send money to a local religious school be the same? Separation of church and state is long established principle in the US and Maine. Pay tuition to a religious school yourself , just as you support your local church yourself . Don’t ask your fellow taxpayers to help you out.
Thank you for saying NO to corporate welfare just as the gov says he’s against.
At last – a glint of common sense.
Do not we already fund private schools? I guess then the State should only fund Public Schools of towns or cities, not private academies.
Parents should have the decision on were their tax dollars are spent in regards to school- why should we be penalized (financially) for sending our children to private school to learn our beliefs and values
Because public funds are for educating, not indoctrinating.
Because private does not mean public.
Religious schools would be stupid for taking public funding. Don’t you ever believe that the funder won’t want its money’s worth. I’m not sure I have seen religious schools asking for public funding…
Another victory for Separation of Church and State!
Have you seen the graduation success rate of private religious or even non-religious schools versus public schools? You would be surpised to learn how many of children that attend public school are falling through the cracks.